Poetry Street meets on the 4th Sunday of the month from 2-4 at the Blue Duck Bakery Café, 309 East Main Street in Riverhead NY, as poets and the community listen to featured poets and perform three minutes of original poems, stories or stand-up, at the open mic.

Poetry Street…where every voice is heard!

Poetry Street is not allied with any organization or institution. It’s an informal gathering of poets and friends of all ages from every culture and community. Together we create a safe and welcoming space, “a room without a roof” where every voice is heard. Together we are Poetry Street.

Started by Susan Dingle with Robert A. Brown as a project for the East End Arts’ JumpstART program, Poetry Street’s first reading in June 2014 celebrated Juneteenth. In July we honored the legacy of Maya Angelou, and ever since Poetry Street has featured poets from all over Long Island reflecting the diversity of our community.

Poetry Street on the Road was born in August 2015 when we were invited by the Anti-Bias Task Force of Southold Town to perform at the 6th Annual Unity Picnic. Poetry Street on the Road was featured in October at the Riverhead Free Library, and at Riverside Rediscovered’s Arts at the Park event, part of the National #Dare to Imagine event series.

The open mic forum Poetry Street celebrated Black History with the poetry of Coyote Lee at the Blue Duck Bakery in Riverhead Sunday afternoon. The event was hosted by Bubbie Brown, Chip Wilford, Susan Dingle, and Maggie Bloomfield. Grab the mic on the fourth Sunday of every month from 2 to 4 PM to present three minutes of original material.

The Chicago poet Carl Sandburg once defined poetry as the journal of a sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air. Yes, it’s tough being a poet, especially in the digital age. But now is no time for poets to sulk alone, idle, blue and unheard. Even in the former Soviet Union, after all, poets recited their work to overflowing crowds packed into sports stadiums. If ever there was a time for poetry in our own country, now is it. READ MORE…

“If one’s body were a grid of downtown shops and avenues, Poetry Street would be the one leading directly to the heart. There should be a Poetry Street in every town in America or, at the very least, in each one of our chests. Thank you to the Blue Duck Bakery and Susan Dingle for this gift!”

—Matt Pasca, Poet, Educator

“Poetry Street brings together and celebrates the rich variety of styles and subjects and stances that poets today practice. I loved seeing such diverse energies together in one room. Only Susan Dingle could harness such a vortex. It's a fine time to be a poet! ”

—Julie Sheehan, Poet, Director MFA Program, SUNY Southampton

“Poetry Street has become a special place for those whose voices were silent for too long, a place to hear ourselves in our community and see ourselves as part of this larger reality, to speak with our unique voice and to hear the unique voices of others in the expression of love and concern for our common challenges and common joys.”

—Nina Yavel, Poet of Well-Being LCSW Psych D

“The Poetry Street readings at the Blue Duck in Riverhead make you feel like you’re down in the Village, listening to the new, raw and righteous voices of the community. It is a pleasure to be a part of and to vibe off of it.””

—Adrienne Unger, Program Coordinator, The Humanities Institute at Stony Brook

“Thank you so much for bringing Poetry Street to the Community Mosaic stage! You and your poets were fabulous!!! The messages within each poem were truly moving, I have been hearing only wonderful comments about the day’s performance. It was such a pleasure working with you and I’m so glad that you were able to be a part of the show. I hope you keep the Mosaic in mind for next year.”